Hungarian painter and graphic artist
Mihaly Zichy
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 Zichy in 1881
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| Born
| (
1827-10-15
)
15 October 1827
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| Died
| 28 February 1906
(1906-02-28)
(aged 78)
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Mihaly Zichy
(
Hungarian pronunciation:
[?mihaːj
?zit??i]
;
German
:
Michael von Zichy
; 15 October 1827 ? 28 February 1906) was a
Hungarian painter
and graphic artist. He is considered a notable representative of Hungarian romantic painting. He lived and worked primarily in St. Petersburg and Paris during his career.
He is known for illustrating the Georgian epic poem
The Knight in the Panther's Skin
on an 1881 commission by the intelligentsia. By the time he had completed 35 pictures, he was so moved by the poem that he gave his works to the Georgian people as a gift.
Biography
[
edit
]
During his law studies in
Pest
from 1842, Zichy attended
Jakab Marastoni
's art school as well. He went to
Vienna
to study under
Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller
in 1844.
Lifeboat
, his first major work, was painted during this period.
On Waldmuller's recommendation, Zichy was hired as an art teacher in
St. Petersburg
. He swore allegiance to freedom in 1849 by painting the portrait of
Lajos Batthyany
, the first Hungarian prime minister. From 1850 onwards, he worked primarily as a retoucher. He also made pencil drawings, water colours, and portraits in oil.
His erotic drawings are noted for having a warm intensity, as both members of the couple seem equal partners. The series on the Gatchina hunting, ordered by the Russian tsar, gained Zichy standing as a court artist. He founded a society to support painters in need. He painted
Autodafe
(1868) to express the horrors of the
Spanish inquisition
in earlier centuries. In 1871 he travelled through Europe, settling in
Paris
in 1874.
He painted
Queen Elisabeth
Laying Flowers by the Coffin of Ferenc Deak
as a commission from Treffort.
Drinking Bout of Henry III
his next large-scale picture, came in 1875.
The Victory of the Genius of Destruction
, painted for the
Paris Exhibition
, was banned by French authorities because of its daring
antimilitarist
message.
Zichy left Paris in 1881 and returned to St. Petersburg, after short stays in
Nice
, Vienna and his native
Zala
.
That year he also visited
Tbilisi
,
Caucasus Viceroyalty
(today
Georgia
). He was commissioned to illustrate the Georgian epic poem,
The Knight in the Panther's Skin
, at the request of intelligentsia of the country. He painted 35 pictures in total. The publishing commission of the work of
The Knight in the Panther's Skin
chose 27 pictures to be included in the publication. The painter refused to take payment for the works, because he was so moved by the original poem. Instead, he gave his works to the Georgian people.
From this time onward, Zichy mostly engaged in illustration work. Examples of works he illustrated include
The Tragedy of Man
by
Imre Madach
, in 1887, and twenty-four ballads of
Janos Arany
, 1894?98.
References
[
edit
]
- Ilona Berkovits,
Zichy, Mihaly. Leben und Werk
, Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1964.
External links
[
edit
]
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